Creative Uses of Mundane Gear

[Samwich]

There's an ongoing debate right now between two members of my party. One of them insists that a grappling hook is the most useful tool for an adventurer, and the other insists that a towel is better. At this point, it has evolved into a full on battle where the both of them out do each other with absurd uses for their equipment. What do you think is the most useful non-magical item, and why?

[tieren]

Clearly the towel.

Love hitchhiker's guide

[JumboWheat01]

The standard-issue 10-foot pole, naturally. What CAN'T you do with it?

Oh, wait, between the two? Towel. And if you need more reach, tie multiple towels together. Plus they make good halfling-sized blankets when needed.

[Joe the Rat]

Of the two, a towel is more versatile, but you could do many of the same things with a sack.

Soap is a really handy thing to have. You can mark walls with it, use it to grease something, use it to degrease something, eat it in a pinch, and if you were truly desperate, wash with it.

My characters always have rope and a jar of oil. Not to use in combination - they're just really useful. Though soaking a length of rope in oil would give you a quick torch or burning fuse.

[RickAllison]

One thing my Aarakocra rogue used a lot was the humble piton. When he wanted to stealth-fly, he would glide around and, when he found a spot he liked, he would stick a piton in a crack. Not enough to securely hold a climbing party, but more than sufficient to hold a giant bird when his weight is distributed across the rocks. For something that seems dedicated to rock-climbing, it actually popped up a lot, and this was a castle!

[oxybe]

most useful?

gold coins :P

In a less sassy tone, i would say that an axe, in some form of either a mattock or ice axe, would be the best general use tool.

generally you want a blade that's parallel to the handle and one that's made for digging.

-a long handle and a spike on the bottom can serve as a walking stick in addition to being a weapon
-a traditional axe head can be used for axe things: from clearing logs to hacking down doors. it can also be used to chop veggies and meat, if a bit awkwardly, and you would likely want it paired with a knife or machete for this.
-having a pick or adze on the opposite end can help in either creating handholds for climbing/stronger or more focused point when trying to break objects (akin to a mining pick) or with the adze used as makeshift shovels to dig or help clear bark/branches/lathe wood
-the flat of the head, especially where it connects to the handle, can be used as a makeshift hammer to either drive stuff like pitons in the ground
-the spike on the handle can be used to poke things at a reasonably safe distance and the whole thing can be used to roughly grab or manipulate objects outside your arm's reach

other then that you generally want a good knife and a nice length of rope for general adventuring tools as they're just universally useful.

[Hairfish]

There was a Dragon article from years and years ago (during 2nd ed) that reviewed common equipment from the perspective of a dungeoneering rogue.

One item I remember in particular was the scroll case. The character liked to pad the inside of the case with a bit of unspun wool and put small valuable items (like gemstones) in it to keep them from rattling around.

Another recommendation is one that all my PCs have followed since then: always have a couple empty sacks rolled up and stored in your pack. Besides being usable for most of the things one could use a towel (which could be anachronistic anyway, though less so than some of the other items available) for, you can also fill them with loot.

[Slipperychicken]

Another recommendation is one that all my PCs have followed since then: always have a couple empty sacks rolled up and stored in your pack. Besides being usable for most of the things one could use a towel (which could be anachronistic anyway, though less so than some of the other items available) for, you can also fill them with loot.

Bags don't get much press, but from what I've seen in play, they're right up there with rope, grappling hooks, small blades, journals, and 10ft poles. Well, not quite the same level as rope and knives, but you should never leave home without a lot of sturdy, black, opaque bags.

One oft-forgotten use of bags is to cover the heads of captives. This can do wonders to help foil an escape and maintain psychological pressure. The right sorcerer might be able to teleport to a location within sight even while his hands are bound, but that doesn't help him much when all he can see is the inside of a sack. And it's always harder to plot an escape when you can't see.

[Inevitability]

One of my players once spent a few dozen GP on a pony with a barrel full of oil on its back. It need not be said that this terrified me, and I kept fearing the player would send his pony towards some encounter, then firebolt the barrel. Fortunately, his character died before such a thing could happen. To this day, we still joke about it.

Morale of the story: never underestimate the power of a random animal tied to something explodable.

[Fatty Tosscoble]

I personally keep a bag of ash in my backpack; it's really useful. I can throw it in an enemies eyes. Cover myself in it to look like I came from the scene of a fire, food doesn't taste so good after you add some in. I can hide stolen items in the mix of ash, because guards won't really check the bag, and rubbing ash on your face can help during stealth missions at night.

You have to hand this one to me.

[Fatty Tosscoble]

Of the two, a towel is more versatile, but you could do many of the same things with a sack.

Soap is a really handy thing to have. You can mark walls with it, use it to grease something, use it to degrease something, eat it in a pinch, and if you were truly desperate, wash with it.

My characters always have rope and a jar of oil. Not to use in combination - they're just really useful. Though soaking a length of rope in oil would give you a quick torch or burning fuse.

I think towels would have more cleaning and medical uses than a sack, and usually a sack is made out of a weaker material, and think of filling a towel with water then getting someones weapon stuck in it, not only is it tangled, but also weighed down.

[wunderkid]

My number one adventures tool that almost every character of mine has and makes great use of is a mirror on a stick (preferably extendable). Gives you the pokey capabilities of a 10ft pole which someone has already mentioned. And let's you see round corners, under doors assuming they have enough clearance, start a fire, can be used as a silent signalling device over long distances for co-ordinating attacks, check your entire body for injuries or more likely ticks and bites (assuming you have a GM who is nasty enough to throw little surprises like that your way), an improvised flashlight to check those dark nooks before sticking your grubby hands in to check for traps, check you don't have spinach in your teeth before attempting that all important charisma check to seduce the guards, use it to subtlety spy on the hot elf chick while she is in the bath (well until it gets steamed up but hey nothing's perfect).

Available now for $9.95+VAT

[oxybe]

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll258/oxybe/portablerogue_zps806a0dec.pngAVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL GENERAL STORE!

What? It can open doors, check for traps and can be used as a motivational tool for loosing information from enemy lips.

[Laserlight]

Pitons, used to wedge doors closed. And in theory used to climb, although I haven't seen that happen recently.

[Talyn]

Chalk. Make maps, leave notes for those coming behind, and mark doors you can't open and traps you can't disarm. In an emergency, you can powder it and throw it in the air as impromptu blinding powder or to leave clouds that will reveal invisible foes. It also keeps sweat off of your hands for climbing or other feats of athleticism.

Steel mirror. Look around corners, reflect light, detect illusions (they won't appear in the mirror unless the caster is very good and observant and makes the illusion in the reflection as well) and vampires. If you meet a monster with a gaze attack, stick a mirror in his or her face! And, if you unexpectedly get invited to a formal dinner with the archvillain, you can shave/fix your makeup beforehand so you can look your best.

(Iron spikes/pitons and the 10' pole are my go-to as well, but they have already been mentioned several times.)

[SharkForce]

no love for the crowbar?

(also, i'm a fan of candles. melted wax can be useful for a variety of things).

[JumboWheat01]

no love for the crowbar?

(also, i'm a fan of candles. melted wax can be useful for a variety of things).

Who needs crowbars when you can call up your barbarian friend.

"Hey, open that door for me. It's stuck."
"RAWR! PUNY DOOR STANDS NO CHANCE!" *smashes door*

Ah, the mundane fun we can have with class abilities sometimes.

[RickAllison]

no love for the crowbar?

(also, i'm a fan of candles. melted wax can be useful for a variety of things).

In our last major dungeon, my tomb-looting rogue was (ironically) the one person not hit by a Mummy Lord's curse. Cue several turns of my 7 Strength rogue desperately using his crowbar to try and slow the fall of a stone door so the party doesn't die (we still needed the help of both a summoned giant elk and the druid as a giant elk to collect the fallen).

[Inevitability]

Steel mirror. Look around corners, reflect light, detect illusions (they won't appear in the mirror unless the caster is very good and observant and makes the illusion in the reflection as well) and vampires. If you meet a monster with a gaze attack, stick a mirror in his or her face! And, if you unexpectedly get invited to a formal dinner with the archvillain, you can shave/fix your makeup beforehand so you can look your best.

I'm fairly sure D&D illusions are like holograms: magically created images of a creature or thing. A mirror won't let you ignore them.

[Slipperychicken]

I'm fairly sure D&D illusions are like holograms: magically created images of a creature or thing. A mirror won't let you ignore them.

Some are like you describe, and others directly impact the creature's mind to make him believe the illusion. I don't know to what extent 5e makes that distinction, however.

[JackPhoenix]

Some are like you describe, and others directly impact the creature's mind to make him believe the illusion. I don't know to what extent 5e makes that distinction, however.

Majority of illusions are the hologram type. Phantom Force and Phantasmal Killer are in the victim's mind, and in the first case, the mind itself tries to hide any disrepancies, so you would see it in the mirror too.

[Inevitability]

Some are like you describe, and others directly impact the creature's mind to make him believe the illusion. I don't know to what extent 5e makes that distinction, however.

Phantasmal Force does the second thing you describe, but if you're around a corner someone can't cast Phantasmal Force at you anyway.

It does protect you from a caster PF'ing you the moment you leave cover, but that's a niche benefit.